Singapore: Fun Facts

The original, and very polluted, Singapore River was drained and dammed to control floods and create a reservoir.

Out of respect, locals address older folks on the street, like a shopkeeper or a taxi driver, as “aunty” or “uncle” even if they are not related.

The Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix made history as the first Formula 1 night race.

The world’s first night zoo is in Singapore.

Singapore was called Singapura, which translates as Lion City in Sanskrit, by a Sumatran Prince after he thought he saw a lion on the island (it was probably a tiger).

Singapore has the World’s busiest port.

Singapore is a city, a capital and a state all at once, making it one of only three City States in the world. The other two are Monaco and the Vatican City.

It is one of the world’s greenest cities with approximately half of its land (900square kilometers) under green cover.

Singapore is made up of one large island and 63 small, mostly uninhabited, surrounding islands.

If you are given a present in Singapore, it is rude to open it in front of the person who gave it you, it’s polite to wait and open the gift later.

Chewing gum is banned in Singapore, except for those with a medical prescription.

Singapore imports sand and fresh water from Malaysia.

Located in the Gardens by the Bay the Flower Dome is the world’s largest glass greenhouse.

Singapore has the world’s tallest indoor waterfall, which is a towering 35 meters high! It’s in Gardens by the Bay, which is an indoor garden housing over 500,000 plants from across the world.

Singapore’s Changi Airport is ranked among the top airports in the world.

The roadway into the city, from Changi Airport can quickly be turned into another runway.

The Fall of Singapore in World War II is said to be the beginning of the end of the British Empire.

The attack on Pearl Harbour and the East's Coast of Malaya causing the Pacific War occurred at the same time but due to the international dateline the Honolulu attack is dated 7th December and Malaya December 8, 1941.

The Singapore national anthem is in micro text on the back of their $1000 note.

Raffles chose Singapore at the tip of the Malay Peninsula to be a “free trading” meeting point for ships from the West (e.g. Europe) and the East (e.g. China).

PASSION MADE POSSIBLE This is a Singapore brand introduced in 2017. It celebrates the story of the Island state’s ingenuity. It encapsulates the spirit of Singapore, where people with vision and drive forge new possibilities and bring meaningful change.

Lee Kuan Yew, The founder of Singapore“Few leaders have so embodied and dominated their countries: Fidel Castro, perhaps, in his day. But he failed to match Mr. Lee’s achievement in propelling Singapore “From Third World to First”. Moreover, he (Lee Kuan Yew) managed it against far worse odds: no space, beyond a crowded little island; no natural resources; and, as an island of polyglot immigrants, not much shared history. The search for a common heritage may have been why, in the 1990s, Mr. Lee’s Singapore championed “Asian values”. By then, Singapore was the most Westernized place in Asia.” Excerpt from obituary in The Economist magazine.

Despite its free-market image, all the land in Singapore is owned by the government, and 85 percent of housing is supplied by the government’s own housing corporation. 22 percent of GDP is procured by state-owned enterprises, including Singapore Airlines.